“Where was that park where we had family reunions? It had a little beach.” This came in our sibling chat the other day.
“We went kayaking from there with your friends from New Mexico one time,” chimed in another brother.
“I don’t remember that,” the youngest brother chirped. “I didn’t go anywhere.” This classic lament from the fourth-born, who is so much younger that he barely existed for many of our stories. Still, despite being an “Irish twin,” he confidently claims—without proof—that he was the only planned child born among the five of us.
Recently, my brothers and I shared a text thread with some photos from family reunions at the St. Joseph County Ferrettie/Baugo Park. We remembered a small beach there that connected to the St. Joseph River. We also recalled other times kayaking from Baugo Park into the river and places beyond. However, when we looked for those spots on Google Earth, we could not find them; it seemed that Baugo Bay in Osceola was no more (note that you can still canoe and kayak from the park, but not in quite the same way, and less and less so all the time).
For over a century, Baugo Bay has been a vital ecological and recreational haven. Today, it is literally disappearing.
Decades of suspect drainage management and unchecked runoff from the Baugo Creek watershed have turned this thriving aquatic ecosystem into a cautionary tale of environmental neglect. As massive amounts of sediment and organic matter flow into the bay, thick layers build up on the floor, choking out the water’s depth. When that sediment reaches the surface, vegetation takes root, trees grow, and permanent islands form. Some of these problems are exacerbated by the aging and partially neglected dams nearby.
According to the local non-profit Save Baugo Bay, Inc., the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) prohibits the removal of these islands once they are established. “We cannot undo the land mass that has already formed; we can only fight to save what remains,” says board member Jacob Jenkins.
This isn’t just an issue for local boaters losing navigable water—it is an environmental emergency. The formation of these unnatural islands creates artificial barriers that drastically slow down water circulation.
During warm Indiana summers, this stagnant water creates a perfect storm for thick, suffocating mats of invasive algae to blanket the surface. These algae mats do more than ruin a view; they block vital sunlight from reaching native underwater vegetation and rapidly deplete dissolved oxygen levels. The result is a degraded habitat where fish and diverse aquatic life are quite literally suffocated. This environment is also a breeding ground for greater numbers of mosquitoes and other pests than are ecologically and historically normative. This once deep, clean, flowing riverine habitat is transitioning into a choked, stagnant wetland zone.
The path forward requires both local action and systemic advocacy. A comprehensive Sediment Removal Plan prepared by Everclear Aquatic Management was submitted to the Indiana DNR earlier this year, outlining a multi-phase dredging project to remove roughly 94,000 cubic yards of sediment and restore critical shoreline flow.
According to board members from Save Baugo Bay, Inc., dredging is only a temporary fix if we don’t address the troubles that are literally taking root in the Bay.
True conservation requires us to be vigilant activists. As a community, we must pressure private entities and utilities to keep their promises and push state and county authorities to fix the broken regional drainage systems upstream.
Baugo Bay is a regional treasure, a haven for local wildlife, and a critical component of our county’s watershed. We must act to restore its channels, halt the runaway accumulation of sediment, and protect this ecosystem before the bay is lost to the mud for good.
To learn more about the engineering plans, view historical aerial imagery of the island growth, or support the local matching grant efforts, visit save-baugo-bay.com and write savebaugobay@gmail.com to learn how you can get involved.
© 2026 Brian S Collier. All opinions are those of the author. The author reserves all Rights and copyrights. To request permission to reprint any or all of this article, contact info@redresssouthbend.com.
Reprinted with permission of the author by Redress South Bend.
All opinions, research, and views in this piece are attributed to the author and are not necessarily the thoughts or opinions of Redress South Bend.
